Q&A with Cristom winemaker, Steve Doerner

Our wine alert today is the Cristom 2008 Mt. Jefferson Cuvee Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley of Oregon. If you haven’t heard, the 2008 vintage in Oregon for Pinot Noir is, as the New York Times stated, superb. As is this wine! You can read more about the wine and winery on our website, or watch our tasting video below. And as a special treat, here are a few questions we were able to ask the very talented Cristom winemaker, Steve Doerner.

Q: Before coming to Cristom, you worked in California wine country. What are some of the main differences you see in winemaking in Oregon vs. California?A: Well, it’s been almost 20 years since I’ve been in California so I’m not sure I’m even qualified to answer this question any longer – a lot has changed in both places in both vineyards and wineries. But if I had to answer in a general way I would say that because of a higher degree of vintage variation in Oregon the winemaking has to be a bit more adaptive. For example, adding acid verses chaptalizing are at opposite sides of a spectrum. You hope you don’t have to do either but in some vintages we do one or the other, where as in California not only is chaptalizing illegal but it would rarely be necessary if it were not.

Q: What do you find most challenging about working with Pinot Noir?A: Pinot Noir is very transparent – it reflects what is done to it in both the vineyard and the winery more than most varieties. Because of this it doesn’t hide any errors made as well as some varieties can. I try to mitigate this by doing as little as possible in the winery so that what the wine is reflecting is coming mostly from the vineyard and the particular season in which it was grown. In that sense I don’t find it as challenging as it’s reputation. We just try to grow and obtain the best grapes possible and then get out of the way.

Q: What did you think about the 2008 vintage of Pinot Noir in Oregon?A: It was a great vintage but enough has already been said about it that I think I can defer to others – it really doesn’t need any more hype.

Q: Can you describe the essence of Oregon Pinot Noir in one or two sentences?A: In general Oregon Pinot Noir seems to have a great balance between fresh fruit, lively acidity and a touch of earthy complexity.